Mystery of the Mary Celeste: What really happened on ghost ship?

IT was this week in 1872 when the ghost ship the Mary Celeste was discovered, prompting one of the great mysteries in maritime history.

A crew of another ship found the merchant vessel floating adrift in the Atlantic about a month after it had set off from New York for Italy.

There was no sign of the captain, his family or crew of seven.

The cargo of 1,700 barrels of alcohol was virtually untouched, while six months of supplies and its passengers’ personal belongings remained onboard.

The ship was found to have suffered some damage and taken on water but was not sinking and still considered seaworthy.

A lifeboat was missing, but the crew and passengers were never found.

Just about every account of the Mary Celeste differs in some ways and over the years there been many speculative theories put forward to explain what happened to those who travelled on the ship.

Some claim the people succumbed to alcohol fumes or an underwater earthquake, while others blame piracy or mutiny. There have even been some far-fetched paranormal conspiracies such as sea monsters or alien intervention.

Owing to captains dying aboard, a fire, crash and other incidents, the Mary Celeste was already considered to be cursed even before its now-famous phantom voyage.

Which theory about the Mary Celeste do you think is most plausible? Which one would you like to be true? What other mysteries are you most interested in getting answers to or are there some things you would prefer to always remain unsolved?